Human-to-human communication occurs through a variety of modes. These communication modes include speech, gestures, touch, body language, posture, facial expression and eye contact. Body posture can be used to determine a participant's degree of attention or involvement, the difference in status between communicators, and the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator. Posture is understood through indicators such as direction of lean, body orientation, arm and hand positions, and body openness.
Media devices interacting with humans typically accept input from very few of the communication modalities that are present. The inability of media devices to utilize posture based communication can lead to stiff, artificial communication and a lack of comprehension in human-machine interactions.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.